SPY PHOTOS

Here is a rare, unobscured look at the front fascia for the Cadillac ATS-V sedan. Cadillac’s high-performance sports sedan is aiming straight at the BMW M4. The uncovered nose confirms that this ATS-V prototype is outfitted with a vertically slatted grille—completely different from anything in the ATS range or current Cadillac lineup.

The new grille design matches the grille treatment spotted on CTS-V prototypes. The brawny front end, generous side skirts and deep rear valance with quad exhaust all combine to transform the rather lithe ATS into a seriously muscle-bound sedan. Most reports suggest that the ATS-V will be outfitted with Cadillac’s twin-turbocharged 3.6L V6 engine, generating something in the neighborhood of 425 hp. Rumor has it that a seven-speed automatic transmission will be optional on the ATS-V.

Ford engineers were recently seen testing a prototype for the updated global Ford Ranger pickup in the mountains of Colorado. The facelifted prototype captured here gets a new front fascia, and the camouflaged interior looks to have also received some attention.

The mid-cycle updates applied to this Ranger could be viewed as a new chance for Ford to tailor the Ranger for U.S. tastes, but there are no real signs of Ford looking to enter the Ranger in an already-crowded U.S. midsize truck market. And with Ford preparing to launch the new aluminum F-150 and developing an overhauled Super Duty lineup, a U.S.-spec Ranger anytime soon remains unlikely.

Chrysler 300S

Dodge Challenger SRT8

Reportedly due to make its official debut at November’s Los Angeles Auto Show, the new Chrysler 300 shows signs of overhauled headlight units and what promises to be a bold new grille. The grille appears to be a departure from the current one on the majority of Chrysler’s models. A new bumper with new lower air intakes and new fog lamps round out the front fascia changes.

Integrated exhaust tips will replace the twin round tips on the current model. In addition, the interior is also part of the new 300’s makeover. The area containing the center stack’s readout looks similar to that found on the current model, but the new 300’s center-stack button array is taken from the recently unveiled ’15 Dodge Charger.

The very aggressive SRT-tuned Dodge Challenger—captured undisguised in red—reveals the musclecar’s new hood design. KGP Photography previously snapped shots of a silver prototype wearing a hood scoop in what appeared to be the first look at the top-tier Challenger model with the new “Hellcat” supercharged V8 engine.

While it has the same hood design as in the earlier spy shots, the red Challenger looks like it is not quite as seriously spec’d out as the earlier prototype. The wheels and brakes on this prototype look to be of a less-aggressive makeup, while the wheels and brakes on the earlier prototype were an exact match for those on an earlier “Hellcat” prototype (which yielded shots of an exposed engine and its supercharger).